DE Senator returns from the war zone

Senator Ted Kaufman says more Afghan security forces need to be trained to take over control of the increasingly violent country. He’ll discuss his findings Wednesday with Marty Moss-Coane on Radio Times at 10am on WHYY-FM.

U.S. Senator Ted Kaufman (D-Delaware), who just finished a six day trip to Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan says the U.S. needs to increase training for local security forces, especially in Afghanistan.

Last month was the deadliest month in Afghanistan for U.S. forces since the start of the war there in the months after the September 11th attacks in 2001.  Senator Ted Kaufman says the U.S. needs to launch a counter insurgency strategy utilizing local forces. “The main thing we need to do is we need to shift the responsibility to the Afghan military and police, and that is the major objective I know of the U.S. military, and that’s my objective.”

Senator Kaufman will talk about his trip in great detail when he sits down to chat on Wednesday with Marty Moss-Coane. He’ll be live with Marty during the 10am hour of Radio Times on WHYY-FM.

Kaufman says how we get that done will depend on what President Obama’s recommends.

While Kaufman was overseas he had the chance to meet briefly with Delaware troops in Iraq, including Delaware’s Attorney General Beau Biden. He says the Vice President’s son and other members of his Army National Guard unit will be ready to come home in the next few weeks.

As far as the situation in Iraq, Kaumfan says, “We’re not done yet in Iraq, but things are going very well there.” Kaufman says he was concerned about the situation in Kirkuk following his trip to Iraq in April. He says since that time, U.S. troops have started more cooperative patrols with local security, which has improved conditions in the area.

And a reminder: Senator Kaufman will be on Radio Times Wednesday at 10am with a rebroadcast at 10pm on WHYY-FM. You can also listen online at whyy.org/radiotimes.